Call for Papers: The Power of Books in Bridging Divides

Congress 2020 logo

Bibliographical and Book Studies in Canada

On June 1st and 2nd, 2020 bibliographical and book studies researchers will gather for the Annual Conference of the Bibliographical Society of Canada at Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences at Western University in London, Ontario. We encourage multidisciplinary engagement on the power of books in bridging social, ethnic, political, economic, and epistemological divides more broadly, while forming fresh visions for bibliographical and book studies.

To explore the conference theme, proposals for papers and panels are invited in the following subject areas:

  1. the decolonization and anti-racism of bibliographical and book studies to redress gaps in representation, approach and/or genre;
  2. the evolution of publishing within the diverse minority linguistic, ethnic, and cultural groups in Canada and the challenges faced by researchers who seek to document this output;
  3. explorations of the many diverse approaches to book culture through historical, literary, cultural, sociological, technological, and bibliographical studies;
  4. confronting the histories of diverse communities of readers, writers, printers, and publishers;
  5. the responsibility of libraries, archives, and museums to diverse communities in the preservation and access of texts beyond the book and traditional knowledge formats;
  6. the role played by Canadian small presses and campus literary journals in giving voice to previously unheard voices and as a learning venue for future writers and publishers; and
  7. investigations of social media and digital texts to bridge studies of publishing, readerships, and authorship across bibliographical and book studies.

In recognition of our gathering in London, proposals that address aspects of the history, literature and book culture of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, Attawandaron (Neutral) peoples, and African Canadians, or consider the wider Congress theme of colonialism and anti-black racism, are particularly encouraged.

Please submit a 250-word abstract proposal and brief biography in English or in French (including your full name, professional designation, institutional affiliation or place) no later than 10 January 2020 to proposals@bsc-sbc.ca.

A picture containing object, device

Description automatically generated


Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.